Month: November 2016

The Comandante who established a communist state and who survived numerous assassination attempts, and survived various premature obituaries, had death finally catch up to him, at the age of 90. And that too, after battling for long with illness.

Even though due to the fact that he was ill for a long time, and that the news of his death was expected, it was still shocking. He was the figurehead across the developing world for an armed struggle against oppressive capitalist forces.

Raul, Fidel’s younger brother, assumed the presidency of Cuba in 2006 after Fidel had a near fatal health problem when he had a major intestinal ailment. In fact, it was he who on the 25th of November, 2016 at 10:29 pm announced that his brother was no more. After the cremation, Fidel Castro’s ashes were interred at the Santa Ifigenia cemetery on the 4th December, in a solemn ceremony.

There were nine days of national mourning which were declared to mark his death, and there were numerous emotional scenes both in Miami and Havana. Several world leaders paid tribute and reflections too.

The US President Obama too offered his condolences and said that the prayers and the thoughts of the Americans were with the Cubans. He also said that the Cuban people should remember that they had a partner and a friend in the US.

However, Obama’s successor Donald Trump referred to Fidel Castro as a person who was a dictator and an oppressor of the people. He said that the legacy of Fidel Castro was of denying of human rights, poverty, suffering, theft, firing squads and more. He said that now Cubans could look forward to living in freedom.

Both Obama and Trump used very different language, and in fact, the renewed relationship between the US and Cuba which has been seen as one of the major legacies of the Obama rule could be under threat when under Trump.